


Tell me about the two times you've been in love

by Dani_Bond



Category: Silicon Valley (TV)
Genre: Jarrich, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:36:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dani_Bond/pseuds/Dani_Bond
Summary: Jared has been in love. Twice.





	Tell me about the two times you've been in love

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime after the events of 3x06 and 3x07. Quite a self-indulgent fic because I wanted to include other character interactions (also I really need to work on their voices, practice makes perfect, right?), but this fic was inspired by a Jarrich idea. 
> 
> (fyi fluffy Jarrich interactions doesn't happen until Ch. 3. Also, yes, my Jarrich bias is super strong in this whole story - please be kind with feedback.)

"C'mon Gilfoyle. You think you could bring a girl home faster than Jared? Did you not see how the ladies flocked to him at Bachmanity's celebration?" challenged Dinesh, shifting in his chair to catch a glimpse of Gilfoyle's reaction. He still wondered why Jared wouldn't let them rearrange the seats so that he could just sit next to Gilfoyle to make conversations easier. It's not like his adamant reorganization and assigned seats actually maximized work output, plus the hacker hostel wasn't exactly a professional setting to get any sufficient work done anyway. 

 

"I did see them, but, yes, of course I could." answered Gilfoyle, without breaking his typing pace. 

 

"Then prove it." baited Dinesh, turning completely in his seat to face Gilfoyle now. 

 

Gilfoyle's typing halted suddenly. He looked up to the ceiling for a moment, sighed, then turned to face Dinesh. Gilfoyle glared and responded, "Why should I sink to your sad, low level of desperation? I have friends, which you don't. I have a girlfriend, which you don't. I don't even need to play this game because I already won." He turned back around to continue his code. 

 

Gilfoyle was pleased that Dinesh finally shut up. Once the peace and quiet finally settled, Dinesh muttered, "Fuck you, Gilfoyle." 

 

\-----

 

"Okay, watch and learn from the master. I'll show you how to catch all the pussy." proclaimed Erlich, as he entered the bar and strutted to the nearest open booth to accommodate the whole gang. Erlich immediately slid into the middle of the booth.

 

Jared grimaced but followed Erlich to sit to his left, "That's disgusting, Erlich. They're human beings too, just talk to them. No need for a pick up play."  

 

"Shut up Jared, I've got my satin undergarments on and I'm feeling lucky enough to take them off tonight. I'm going to smoke all you fuckers." 

 

Erlich ignored Jared as he tried to explain to the rest of the gang, "I don't understand why we're doing this anyway. I already disclosed that I'm a sexual being with urges to sleep with people at times."

 

Jared didn't notice that although Dinesh, Gilfoyle, and Richard nodded in agreement, they weren't truly paying attention. There was a minor, almost indistinct, disturbance that made them pause. Gilfoyle slid next to Erlich's right, expecting Dinesh to follow suit, instead he was confronted by a sullen Richard. Richard sat at the edge of the booth. His right leg rested outside of the booth, so that his body turned slightly away from the group. Richard hunched over to lean on his hand. It wasn't that Gilfoyle didn't mind sitting next to Richard, but it was pretty astonishing that Richard decided against sitting next to Jared. They always sat together. Jared was a stickler for the assigned seats in the hacker hostel and Richard was most comfortable in meetings when he was sitting next to Jared. Dinesh was also mildly surprised that Richard didn't take his place next to Jared's seat, but didn't bother to question Richard about it. He took the available space by Jared. 

 

Erlich took charge and instructed to the group, "Here's the deal. Jared, you're going to set the baseline. You're going to go up to the bartender and we'll see how quickly you can get her number."

 

Jared interrupted Erlich, "But she is — " "the toughest target." Erlich interrupted Jared just as quickly then continued, "She has to deal with perverts all night. For some reason, Russ believes that you're the best fucker around so here's your night to show your true colours." 

 

"But Erlich," Jared attempted to talk some sense into him before he was, once again, interrrupted. 

 

"Make like Nike and just do it." Erlich directed. 

 

Jared felt exasperated with this whole ordeal but he was grateful for the night out with the boys. He gave into Erlich's instructions and politely asked to get past Dinesh. Dinesh stood up effortlessly, but Jared's awkward sideways shuffle brought attention to his tall frame. Once he finally stood up comfortably, he composed himself. Jared left them to their own devices and walked confidently to the bar. 

 

When Dinesh stood up and allowed Jared to get through, he noticed a booth of all females toasting in celebration. He immediately recognized Monica and was startled to see Carla in that group as well. He provided an awkward wave to their group. One of the brunettes shot a quizzical look back, and then turned to whisper amongst themselves. Carla glanced at Dinesh and sent an acknowledgement nod in his direction. Monica smiled and waved to Dinesh. The ladies laughed together, Dinesh took that as his cue to sit back down. 

 

"I didn't know Monica and Carla were friends. Did they even talk to each other when Carla worked at Pied Piper?" asked Dinesh. 

 

Everyone else shrugged, yet Richard spoke up for the first time that night. 

 

"All I know is that they bonded over making fun of Jared for a bit." replied Richard wearily. Erlich could sense the discomfort in Richard's voice when he said Jared's name, but before he could investigate Richard continued saying, "They both like The Voice so I guess they're gal pals." His voice faltered, but the rest of them let the trailing silence happen. 

 

Gilfoyle looked to Dinesh and motioned with a slight tilt of his head in Richard's direction and silently asked if Dinesh knew why Richard was being such a downer. Dinesh inconspicuously shrugged. Richard turned to see if he could see the booth where Carla and company were sitting, starting a chain reaction of Gilfoyle, Erlich, then Dinesh to look in their direction. 

 

While the rest of the gang were momentarily distracted by this Monica and Carla sighting, Jared had already returned from the bar. He casually tossed a napkin with 'Jennifer' sprawled across it onto the table. 

 

Everyone stared at Jared, though individually reacting differently. Dinesh's mouth was obviously agape and he looked absolutely in awe of him. Erlich looked impressed, his arms were folded in front of him and he nodded a congratulatory salute. Gilfoyle's expression barely changed, but he eventually smirked and acknowledged Jared's accomplishment. Jared didn't notice any of them, however, because he was only looking at Richard who was still staring at the napkin. Richard looked up at Jared, just standing there, completely ignorant of how distressing this whole situation is to him. Jared seemed so much taller, and even more out of his reach, like he was in a completely different league. Richard looked back down to stare at his hands in his lap. Jared took the broken eye contact as a sign to sit down. He finally noticed that something was off about Richard's demeanour. Richard should be happier. After all, this night out was supposed to be a celebration of the beta release, before they hear all the bad news. Somehow, it turned into a distasteful competition. 

 

Richard figured that this whole game was not only sexist, but such an obnoxious move from the boys. Winnie and him didn't work out, only just recently. Anyway, it didn't matter because Richard was truly distracted by only one thing, something that Jared had said. He'd been thinking about it ever since he walked out on Winnie. 

 

Once Jared was settled, Erlich was the first to question him, "How?" 

 

"Well, I tried to explain to you, Erlich. That's Jen, she used to tend bar at Hooli events. I did a double date with her once." Jared revealed. He cocked his to the left, Jared realized, "I guess Richard wouldn't know that because he never went to those things." He caught a glimpse at Richard, he was still staring at his hands blinking rapidly. Jared thought to himself that he knows this look. It's the same look when he tries to prevent himself from crying in public. All of the attention was still on Jared. He usually dismissed moments like this, but Jared knew that maintaining the attention could help Richard take the time to calm himself. 

 

"I should explain that the double date was with Jen and Jen's girlfriend plus me and my date." Jared clarified. 

 

The whole gang stared dumbfounded at Jared. Erlich, Dinesh, and Gilfoyle were all thinking, "How the fuck did this guy become part of their group?" 

 

"It's funny how this counts as a Pied Piper event and she's still tending bar. Maybe she's following me. You don't think she's flirting with me, do you?" Jared asked while giggling. Gilfoyle, Dinesh, and Erlich didn't. Jared didn't care, he saw the tiniest smile from Richard at least. He added, "While I was there, I ordered our drinks. Two pitchers, one Mai Tai, and the other a Red Sangria. And no worries Erlich, I also got two six packs of beer for you, Dinesh, and Gilfoyle. You're welcomed to have some of our drinks though." 

 

Jared could see in the corner of his eye that Richard was looking up and mentally preparing himself to engage in conversation again. For Richard, it was the idea that Jared was still looking out for them, even when he was, technically but not actually, flirting. 

 

Erlich nodded decisively once, "Alright Jared, you play a hard game." 

 

"I suppose you can say that, Erlich, but it turns out that I just have connections at this bar." Jared countered. 

 

Erlich nodded patiently and offered, "Let's just change up the rules. Let's see how long you can talk to a woman before she thinks you're just creepy. Bonus points if you get her number. And you're going to tell me if you know them beforehand." 

 

Jared quickly glanced at Richard who was luckily not paying attention to him, all of these longing looks are going to make things awkward between them. In the moment though, all that mattered was that Richard seemed more presentable. 

 

Jared preferred Erlich's new rule. It wasn't the kind of night to prioritize casual sex. This outing is a celebration for Pied Piper's progress. Besides, he knew that talking to women didn't necessarily mean he has to flirt or sleep with them, and so he graciously replied, "Of course."  

**Author's Note:**

> More coming soon! 
> 
> Message me at praisejarrich.tumblr.com


End file.
